The Oak King and The Holly King
I thought I would start my second post with these two lovely characters, The Oak King and The Holly King.
These two are considered to be two sides of the single Horned God. They depict the cycle of the seasons and are deeply connected with the nature aspect of the Horned God. The Oak King symbolizes the coming of warmer weather, and his reign lasts from the Spring Equinox to the Fall Equinox. The Oak King's strongest point is Midsummer, or the Summer Solstice, where it is the longest day of the year. The Holly King symbolizes the coming of winter, and his reign is from the Fall Equinox to the Spring Equinox. The Holly King's strongest point is Yule, or the Winter Solstice, where it is the longest night of the year. There are some descrepancies to this timeframe. Some of the stories do the change over on the solstices instead of the equinoxes. You can be the judge yourselves to which feels right to you. Because these two aspects are direct opposites their story pits them against each other for eternity!
Now there are many takes on the story, but so far my favorite one is called the Colloquy of the Oak and Holly King. It is done by Damh the Bard and it is beautifully written. To hear Damh recite the Holly King stepping down to the Oak King go here: https://soundcloud.com/damhthebard/colloquy-of-the-oak-and-holly . If you would like to read the Oak King stepping down to the Holly King go here: http://www.paganmusic.co.uk/colloquy-of-the-oak-and-holly-king/ .
Either way you look at it we are switching into the Holly Kings reign now. Keep in mind what this time of year stands for, especially when you notice the abundance of holly in our everyday holidays!
If you have more insight about the Oak and Holly King please feel free to comment!
